1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fitting for repairing and reinforcing a bifold door panel such that the door retains a pivot pin.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Bifold doors are commonly used for closets and the like. They are favored by builders but they are a bane to property managers because they are expensive to maintain.
In a typical bifold door installation, four door panels are used, two of which are hinged together at each side of a door frame. In a smaller opening, only two door panels are used. The panel nearer the jamb, known as the pivot door, is mounted on pivots at the top and bottom and supports the full weight of both doors. The other panel further from the side of the opening, known as the lead door, typically has a pivot pin with a guide that runs in a guide track provided at the top of the opening.
When the doors are closed, the panels are in the plane of the frame. The doors are opened by pulling on the lead door, causing the doors to fold relative to each other. As the doors open, the pivot door pivots adjacent the jamb and the hinged edge of the lead door swings outwardly as constrained by the hinges between the doors and the guide in the tracks.
The guide track used with bifold doors typically is an elongated U-shaped channel having an elongated projection or ledge extending inwardly from each side of the track. A pivot bracket for the top pivot on the pivot door is seated on or against the pair of ledges and is securely fastened to the track with a screw or similar fastener.
When bifold doors are slammed open, as commonly happens in service, particularly in rental units, the pivot pin on the lead door strikes the pivot bracket of the pivot door with considerable force. Since the pivot bracket is tightened on the track, it does not move. If the bifold door is slammed open hard enough, or a sufficient number of times, the hole for the pivot pin in the lead door will become oversized, causing the pin to tilt and the guide to pop out of the track rendering the door inoperative. Sometimes the force is sufficient such that the wood around the pivot hole is split out.
There are currently only two possible repairs for this type of damage. The door can be removed from the track and a new piece of framing installed where the wood around the hole is enlarged or split. Many bifold panels are constructed with a frame consisting of a pair of vertical stiles connected with top and bottom rails. A particle board or plywood sheet is glued front and back to the wood frame. To make a repair on this kind of door panel, the covering sheets must be removed and the broken section of the frame, usually the stile, replaced. Once this has been completed, the covering sheets are reglued to the frame and a new hole drilled for the pivot pin. With a rental unit, this repair is usually made off-site and takes approximate twenty-four (24) hours to complete, taking into consideration the drying time of the glue. The other option is to replace the bifold door with a new door.
Occasionally, the pivot pins at the top or bottom of the pivot door are also damaged. This can occur when the closet is overfilled and a user forces the door closed. As force is applied to the hinged edge and the door straightens, it functions as a toggle joint putting tremendous pressure on the pivots. Since the top and bottom pivots on the pivot door are fixed, the only give is in the wood around the pivot hole, which becomes oversized or is broken out. If one of the pivot pins on the jamb side of the frame comes out of its mounting bracket, the door becomes inoperative. The repair options for the pivot panel are the same as for the lead panel, either carpentry or replacement, both of which are expensive. Besides, unless the user gives the repaired or new door better treatment, damage is likely to recur.
In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a fitting for right-hand or left-hand use in repairing or reinforcing a pivot hole in a bifold door panel. It is another object to provide a fitting that can be used at minimal cost in materials and labor. It is also an object to provide a fitting that can be installed on-site. Other objects and features of the invention will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter.
A fitting for repair and reinforcement of a bifold door panel such that the door retains a pivot pin is L-shaped in transverse cross-section with two legs. Each of the legs has a flange along one side edge. The legs have an inside surface with a width sized to receive a portion of a standard width thickness of the bifold panel and the flanges have an inside surface with a width sized to receive a portion of an inside face of the bifold panel. Each of the legs has an opening for receiving and retaining a pivot pin and some or all of said legs and said flanges have an opening for receiving and retaining a screw for attaching the fitting to a corner of a panel with a pivot hole in need of repair or reinforcement.
In use for right-hand or left-hand installation, a fitting as described above is selected and the pivot pin is removed from the pivot hole adjacent the corner of the panel to be repaired or reinforced. The fitting is mounted over the corner with the opening in the leg for the pivot pin in registry with the pivot hole. The fitting is then secured to the panel with a plurality of screws, each of said screws extending through one of the openings in the legs and flanges for screws and into the panel thereby securely mounting the fitting on said door panel. The pivot pin is inserted through the opening in the leg in registry with the pivot hole and into the pivot hole. When the pivot pin is in a sleeve with a flange, the sleeve of the pivot pin in inserted through the opening in the leg in registry with the pivot hole until the flange makes contact with an outer surface of the leg. The pivot pin is thereby maintained in upright position in the pivot hole, ensuring proper mounting of the bifold door in the door frame.
The invention summarized above comprises the constructions and methods hereinafter described, the scope of the invention being indicated by the subjoined claims.